Day after praise from PM Modi, Manohar Lal Khattar out as Haryana CM: Why BJP replaced him

Recalling how he and Khattar go a long way, Modi recounted how he used to ride pillion on Khattar’s motorbike, often travelling from Rohtak to Gurgaon. “There were small roads but today the entire Gurugram region is connected to several major national highways, including expressways, which reflects the progressive mindset of Chief Minister, Shri Manohar Lal. Today, the future of every Haryanvi is safe under the leadership of the Chief Minister.”

Khattar too assured Modi that “on behalf of Haryana’s 2.82 crore people, I can assure that the BJP shall win all 10 Lok Sabha seats of Haryana”. In January, during his video interaction with welfare beneficiaries, the PM, talking to a farmer from Rohtak, described Khattar as “bahut mazboot aadmi (a very strong man)” who ensures people receive the benefits of the schemes launched by the government.

BJP sources told The Indian Express that Khattar was likely to be projected as one of the party’s candidates for the Lok Sabha polls. The decision to replace him was in line with the party’s stand to change its chief ministers after two terms, said a BJP leader in Delhi. “The party wants to bring in freshness at the leadership as we go to the polls. Khattar is a good organiser, a good administrator, and a clean man. The party has no complaints but it is the BJP’s efforts always to give fresh faces and to provide chances for other leaders,” said a senior party leader involved in the party’s organisational activities in Haryana.

BJP insiders said while the party was confident of winning all the 10 seats in the Lok Sabha elections, it had concerns about its Assembly election prospects. The polls are scheduled for later this year. “In Haryana, the Lok Sabha elections are not going to be tough for BJP. All 36 significant communities in the state love Prime Minister Modi and support him,” said the leader, adding that the farmers’ protest and the wrestlers’ agitation could dent the party’s prospects in the Assembly election.

Khattar’s tenure

Khattar had contested his first Assembly election from Karnal in Haryana in 2014 and won in 2019, too. In 2014, the BJP created history by winning a majority in the 90-member Assembly as it bagged 47 constituencies.

During his tenure of more than nine-and-a-half years, Khattar faced several challenges, unlike his predecessors, especially several major law-and-order problems. There was the Jat reservation agitation in 2016 in which more than 30 people died, clashes between armed forces and followers of Dera Sacha Sauda chief Ram Rahim after he was convicted on charges of rape by a CBI court in Panchkula in 2017 in which more than 40 people lost their lives, the arrest of religious leader Rampal in 2018 during which at least six people died, the farmers’ protest of 2020-’21, last year’s communal violence in Nuh, and the ongoing farmers’ protest. But Khattar prevailed with the backing of the BJP leadership.

In 2019, Khattar played a pivotal role in the Lok Sabha election campaign in Haryana, helping the BJP sweep the state. The victory margins of BJP candidates in eight out of 10 Lok Sabha seats was more than 3.3 lakh votes. Khattar also launched several schemes. The two flagship schemes, Parivar Pehchan Patra and the SVAMITVA, were appreciated by the Union government, which adopted SVAMITVA that aims to provide the “record of rights” to homeowners in inhabited rural areas, called Lal Dora in local parlance. The scheme was introduced in Haryana in 2021 and adopted by the Centre last year.

Modi had praised Khattar in 2021 too, saying that “his talent has come to the fore as a chief minister and he works with dedication and innovation, with even the central government adopting the model of some of the Haryana government’s programmes”. At the time too, it was speculated that Khattar might be replaced as the BJP had replaced three CMs, two in Uttarakhand in quick succession and another in Gujarat.

At an event in Jhajjhar, Modi said, “After many decades, Haryana has under the leadership of Manohar Lal Khattar got a government that works with absolute honesty. It has got a government which thinks day and night about the state’s bright future… Media had not paid much attention to this positive and constructive matter, but this government will be considered the best whenever an evaluation is done.”